Fruit packer



Sept l? 1936- B. LANGLo-rz l I53,198

FRUIT PAGKER Filed NOV. l, 1954 2 SheeLS-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 1, 1936UNITED STATES FRUIT PACKER Barney Langlotz, Bangor, Mich.v ApplicationNovember 1, 1934, Serial No. 751,084V

A3 Claims.

This invention relates to fruit packing devices, and particularly tomeans for holding assembled fruit in packed formation, andthereafter'transferring it to a container, such as a basket, the

said device being provided with means for holding the fruit in thebasket while the' basket is being transferred from an inverted toanupright position.

1t is a further object of this invention toy provide novel means forholding a shell, which is substantially the form in which the fruit isto be collected and held prior to its being transferred to a basket, inoperative relation to a support which may be said to comprise the bottoml of the shell, so that fruit is held therein lduring the time theinverted basket is applied to the shell and pressed thereon to a degreewhere the mouth of the basket is in such relation to the bottom of theshell that fruit cannot escape from the basket and said bottom when theshell is lowered, leaving the fruit in the basket; the said I inventionfurthermore contemplating the provistion of novel means for engaging thebottom which now becomes the temporary closure for the basket while'thesaid basket is being moved to its upright position.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide novel meansfor flexing the temporary bottom of the shell, in order that fruit willgravitate toward the side or wall of the shell to insure close packingof the fruit so that manipulation of the fruit will not be necessary toprovide a proper settling of the fruit in approximate courses Within'the shell.

It is furthermore an object of this invention to provide novel means forholding the parts in operative position during certain phases of theoperation of the device'and then to release the same when other steps ofthe operation are to be performed.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a fruit packerof the character indicated which will vcomprise comparatively few andinexpensive parts that will p-rove eiiicient and satisfactory in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention consists inthe details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination ofparts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings forming part of this application, wherein likecharacters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and inwhich- Figure 1 illustrates a view in elevation of a fruit packingmachine;l

Figure 2 illustrates a plan View thereof;

Figure 3 illustrates a sectional View on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Y

Figure 4 illustrates a View in elevation of the upper part of thepacker, showing a basket in position to have the fruit transferred toit;

Figure f5 illustrates a'plan view of the shell; and v l0 Figure 6illustrates a sectional view of the post and parts associatedwith it, ona line above the spring for retaining the post. n

The frame of the machine Vmay be provided with three or more legs I0, ofmetal or the like, l5 having a ring II 'secured to them at their upperends in anyappropriate Way, as by fastenings I2, such as rivets or thelike.

In the present Vernbodirnent of the inventio'n, each leg has a spring I3secured to it, or the member I3 may bein the nature of a flexible arm,to each of which a support I4 is attached. The support I4 is here. shownas formed from av metal strip which is bent so that it has a centralportion I5 attached to Vthe member I3 and two parallel portions I6 andI'I which embrace one of the legs, the saidi parallel portions formingsupports for a shell I8, into which the fruit is packed initially. yThemember I5 and its .arm is under tension of a spring I9 normallyoperative to hold the support in its outward position in which it Willhold the shell. Rods or other members V20 are supplied,A one of which isconnected to each ofthe supports and to a treadle 2| through theconnection 22, and when the treadle is actuated by the foot of anoperator, it will tend to pull the supports inwardly within thecircumference of the shell and the shell can then be lowered, for apurpose to be presently explained. Y

The shell comprises preferably -a cylindrical metal member having aloose joint where its edges overlap, as at 23, and preferably thematerial forming vthe member is secured at the lower edge by a pivot2liv which may be a rivet or the like. The overlapping portions are notsecured xedly at their `upper edges but are held yieldingly by a spring25, one end of which is anchored to the shell on one side of the jointand the other end of which is anchored to the shell on the opposite sideof the joint, so that the upper edge of the shell is free to expand,within predetermined bounds, to the approximate internal diameter of thereceptacle into which the fruit is to be delivered after it is packed inthe shell. Suitable handles 26 are provided for the shell to facilitateits manipulation.

A flexible loose bottom is provided for the shell and it preferablyconsists of a metallic ring 2'I and a flexible diaphragm-like covering28 which can be flexed to convex form within the shell, as shown in Fig.3, in orde-r that fruit delivered to the shell will tend to gravitate tothe wall of the shell, forming a crown in the center of the pack. Theshell has cleats 2Ial which support the loose bottom, and the loosebottom is also supported by the ring II when the shell is lowered andthe cleats release the said loose bottom.

The member 2B may be iiexed to a greater or lesser degree by employingan adjustable post 29 which is slidable in a bracket 30 projecting. froma frame member, the said post being held at different positions ofadjustment` by a frictionelement 3I which is in the nature of aspringfhaving its ends 32 and, 33 engaged by the downwardly extendedYparts 34 of another bracket 35 that is attached to a bracket 36 in anyappropriatey way, as by mechanical fastenings or spot welding or thelike. Since the manner of securingv the` bracket 35 to the bracket 36may be accomplished' in different ways, it is believed unnecessary toshow the same in detail'..

As has been state`dthe post 29 may be moved' vertically and held atdifferent positions and therefore, the convexity of the bottom 28 will'be changed as. desired.

WhenA the shell has been loaded and the fruit is to be transferred to areceptacle such as' a basket,l a basket 313 is inverted and its open endis slid downwardly over the shell. until the. space between the openendof theY basket andthtemporary bottom of the shell is in-.suchrelation that if the shell isl displaced fruit cannot escape. When. thisadjustment has been attained, the

, treadle is actuated to operate. the supportsof the shell so that it isfree to move downwardly, as it is shown in Fig. 4, at which time thebasket and bottom 28 are in operative relation to conne the fruit.Thereafter the post can be adjusted to peri mitl theiiexible bottom toassume` a. convex position and the fruit will then assume alike.position, and the fruit in the basket will haveV a` crowned effect whichis the desired result. After this manipulation has occurred, the.basketv may be removed from the packing stand.

In order to facilitate the removal of the. basket in its packed statefrom the packing stand,. a yoke is providedV which is formedof twosemicircular, preferably metallic, membersY 38 and 39 having; theirinner ends shaped so that they lieV parallel to each other and they aremounted on al'npivot 49 `suitably anchored to the frame or a portionthereof. Infact, in the present embodiment, a post 4I is secured to theframe or portions thereof and the yoke to the upper end thereof. Eachyoke member 38 and 39 is preferably provided with hook-like members 42',the hooks of which are applied to the underside of the frame of theremovable bottom,..and" as the yoke is swung on its pivot through themanipulation of its handles 43 and 44, the basket 4can be righted ormoved from its inverted to its upright position and deposited with itsbottom on a receiving bracket or board 45, the construction of which isfully shown.

I3 is of material having a spring action, the device would operatewithout the necessity of having the additional springs I9.

The bracket or board 45 is provided with a post and head A similar tothe post 29 to hold the flexible bottom in desired position.

In the practical operation of the machine, it will be desirable to havea plurality of shells and center parts to increase the output, but onlyone machinewill be needed for each operator.

The bracket or board 45 with the post 29 is to beused to facilitate thepacking and handling of fruit for, by the use of a number of shells--with their flexible bottoms, the shells may be placed on the board andthe bottom will be supported centrally by the post A and the rim of thelbottom willy of course be supported by the cleatsn 21a, a, plurality ofwhich is provided on the inner surface of the shells near the bottomsthereof. When fruitv is packed in the shells when onrthe, board 45 theshells are transferred to'l the machine and thereafter the containersare applied to they shells. By this means, severalY packers may beemployed in filling shells which Will be successivelyv transferred tothe machine and then to the containers.

I claim:

a fruit packer, an expansible shell in which fruit is collected, aflexible bottom therefor,` cleats on the shell for engaging the bottomand holding it therein, means for supporting the shell, means foroperating the supports to disengage the shell, means for transferringthe fruit in the shell to a container inverted over the shell andkmovable downwardly thereoveras the shell is lowered below said bottom,and a yoke for clamping the container, the said yoke having. means forengaging the temporaryV bottom and holding it in relation to thecontainer toY prevent the fruit from escaping from the container, meansfor pivotally supporting the yoke whereby it mayv be swung upwardly tocarry the container to an upright position, and a support on which thecontainer is deposited in its upright position.

2. In a fruit packing apparatus, aV suitable frame, a ring supported bythe frame, a shell encompassing-the ring, yieldable means Vfor hold-`ing the shellv in operative relation to the ring and for releasing thesaid shell, a flexible bottom for the shell, adjustable means on theframe engaging the bottom for supporting it centrally, in a convexposition, means` for clamping a container and holding the bottom inoperative -relationr to the container, and means for oscillatablymounting the clamping member for moving the container to an uprightposition.

3. In a fruit packing apparatus, a suitable frame, a ringY supported bythe frame, a shell encompassing the ring, yieldable means for holdingthe shell in operative relation-to the ring and for releasing the saidshell, a flexible bottomv for the shell, adjustable means on the frameengaging the bottom for'supporting'it centrally in a. convex position,said means comprising a post engaging the flexible bottom and means forholding the post at different positions of ad'- justment, means forclamping a container andv holding the bottom in operative relation tothe container, and means for oscillatably/ mounting the clamping memberfor moving the container lo an upright position. i

BARNEY LANGLOI'Z.

